Taxpayers have no right to challenge nearly $300 million in tax breaks that Ohio's elected officials used to entice DaimlerChrysler Corp. to build a new plant in Toledo, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday. By ruling that the taxpayers had no right to sue, the justices avoided deciding whether tax incentive programs are constitutional. The high court's decision could have had a significant impact nationally because nearly every state uses billions of dollars in tax breaks to attract companies. Two years ago, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Ohio's tax credit on new equipment, saying the practice hinders interstate commerce because the incentives are available only to businesses that invest in Ohio. ... http://www.guardian.co.uk

The American security company Blackwater dreamed of privatizing war. But then, four of its employees were killed in Fallujah and their corpses hung from a bridge. Now, a trial in the US will decide on the company's future. The Blackwater security consulting firm in North Carolina likes to think of itself as the future of war. Only recently, the company announced it would soon be dispatching a whole brigade of soldiers to the world's battlefields. Whether on behalf of governments, the EU or NATO, the firm feels equally comfortable assuming the role of pacifying an Iraqi town or the Darfur region. A peace-keeping company, complete with its own medical service and troop logistics. Faster, cheaper and not one iota less professional than governmental armed forces, so the company's management says....http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,415760,00.html

The European Commission has questioned the effectiveness of the EU's emissions trading scheme, the cornerstone of its climate change policy. Under the scheme, governments set quotas for the carbon dioxide emissions produced by 9,400 large factories and power stations in 21 member states. Carbon permits are issued to give firms a financial incentive to invest in clean technology and cut emissions. But the commission's report showed that states have issued too many permits. The permits effectively make the right to pollute a tradeable commodity - giving companies the ability to buy and sell permission to emit extra carbon dioxide. Emissions of carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - are widely thought to be a key factor in global warming, increasing atmospheric temperatures around the world. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4771871.stm

The European Union will propose a "bold package" of incentives to Iran, including possible security guarantees, if Tehran can ensure that its nuclear programme is not used to produce weapons, the EU foreign-policy chief, Javier Solana, said today."We have said over and over again that we think a diplomatic solution is a good way, and we are going to continue on that line and ... we are going to prepare a very serious package that will make it difficult for them to say no," Mr Solana said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. The proposals will be put together despite an announcement last night by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that any economic and political incentive package would be rejected if it required Tehran to stop enriching uranium. Uranium enrichment can be a first step towards a nuclear weapons programme.Insisting that only Iran has the authority to make decisions about its nuclear program, ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1775424,00.html?gusrc=rss

MELES ZENAWI, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, once hailed as one of Tony Blair’s “new breed” of African leaders, has turned on Britain for freezing millions of pounds in aid to his impoverished nation. He was speaking to The Times on the eve of the anniversary of last year’s disputed elections. Addis Ababa was bracing itself for more violence today after a series of bomb blasts on Friday and Saturday left at least four people dead and 42 injured. Mr Meles accused Mr Blair of behaving like an old colonial master in cutting off aid in response to the killing by government troops of scores of opposition protesters last year. He said that the Prime Minister should not have switched off the aid tap without first engaging in real dialogue. ...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2180961,00.html

Activity on the Indonesian volcano Mount Merapi has intensified, with continuous clouds of ash, gas and rock fragments spewing from its crater. One of the emissions sent a pile of debris 4km (2.5 miles) down one side of the mountain, scientists said. Experts monitoring the volcano, in central Java, raised its alert status to the highest level on Saturday. Thousands of people have been moved from the volcano's upper slopes, but a small number are refusing to leave. So far there have been no confirmed reports of fresh lava flows from Mount Merapi on Monday, but the volcano is becoming more active by the day. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4771459.stm